Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman has directed the Health Department to improve routine immunization across the province for the complete eradication of polio.
He issued this directive while presiding over a high-level meeting at the Civil Secretariat here on Monday. The meeting reviewed health reforms and measures to control polio, dengue, and conjunctivitis.
It was decided that a special campaign to improve routine immunization would be launched in eight districts – Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, DG Khan, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Jhang, Gujarat and Pakpattan.
Chief Secretary Punjab ordered that the ongoing national anti-polio campaign in the province be made a success and 100 percent coverage of missed children be ensured.
He said that continuous efforts are needed to eradicate polio and dengue. He said that concrete measures are being taken for the improvement of the health and education sector, adding that the implementation of the health insurance program in government hospitals is yielding positive results.
Secretary Health Ali Jan gave a detailed briefing at the meeting.
He said that in the anti-polio campaign of October, the health authorities have set a target of vaccinating more than 22 million children in 36 districts of Punjab.
He said that the rate of routine immunization in Lahore has increased by 15.3 percent under a special campaign. He mentioned that all necessary arrangements have been made in the hospitals for dealing with the patients of conjunctives whose number is seeing a downward trend. He said that Lahore and Rawalpindi are on high alert regarding dengue. The top officials of the Health department attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.
